Alright, everybody. Back with another chapter.
This chapter will be the last ones before the Separatists arrive in force. This is going to feature a little rebellion on Earth, and lead into the arrival of the Separatists.
Let's get to it.
DeutscheReich: I don't think the Terrans will want to share all their secrets with the Republic.
Chapter 8- Operation Thunderstrike
(January 8, 1992)
Anakin stands in the gunship, holding onto one of the overhead straps. Looking out of the gunship, he watches a formation a F-15s fly past him.
It's been a few weeks since the first Separatist ships arrived. The Republic's forces are getting anxious at the time the Separatists are taking, and have asked for reinforcements to be sent to Terra. At the same time, the distribution of new weapons, mainly blasters, among the Terran forces was going very well.
In the meantime, a new problem has arisen. Iraq, Libya, and North Korea, the three countries that voted against alliance with the Republic, and were leaning towards alliance with the Separatists, had taken the news that the Separatists were coming with joy, and had begun mobilizing their militaries. A number of serious border skirmishes between Iran and Iraq and North and South Korea had convinced the UN Security Council that the three countries intended to fight against the rest of the world on the side of the Separatists. And so, the decision had been made by the Security Council that these three regimes were now to be labelled as outlaw regimes, and the Council authorized the use of force to remove them from power, and thereby remove the threat. The mission was codenamed Operation Thunderstrike.
A number of African and European nations had banded together along with Obi-Wan and clones of the 212th to attack Libya and remove Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator, from power. Mace Windu and clones of the 182nd were joining a coalition of Asian nations to attack North Korea and remove the current regime from power. And Anakin and Ahsoka, along with clones of the 501st, were joining the United States and a coalition of Middle Eastern nations to attack Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein and his regime from power.
The plan was simple. Fighter bombers from the United States and Middle Eastern countries will attack Iraq's air defenses and its air force, while gunships and helicopters would transport clones and Terran troops to Baghdad, where they would find Saddam Hussein and his leadership and capture them. A-10 attack aircraft, LAATs, and attack helicopters would be supporting them in Baghdad.
"Ready for this, Ahsoka?" Anakin asks.
"Definitely, Master," she says, a little angry. She had been particularly horrified when she learned of the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein, and was very eager to see him brought to justice.
Anakin looks down at his GPS. They crossed the border into Iraq from Saudi Arabia 20 minutes ago, and over halfway to Baghdad. Over his earpiece, he can hear radio chatter from various command units. It's rather jumbled, but he can tell that the attacks to distract Iraq's attention from the strike force bound for Baghdad.
Suddenly, the leader of the flight of F-15s close by suddenly pulls up and banks slightly to the left. Then, a missile leaps off the Eagle's launch rail, streaking up out of sight. A few moments later, the sound of an explosion can be heard, and debris begins to fall from the sky.
The rest of the F-15s pull up after their leader. Anakin leans out of the LAAT a bit and looks up, and sees the Eagles, along with several more, engaging in a dogfight with some Iraqi fighters.
"Sir! Fifteen minutes to drop!" the LAAT pilot calls back to Anakin.
"Understood!" Anakin responds.
The force of LAATs, attack helicopters, and A-10s press on towards Baghdad as overhead, the American and Saudi F-15s continue engaging Iraqi fighters attempting to intercept the strike force.
Finally, after almost 15 more minutes, the outer parts of Baghdad appear below them. Anti-aircraft weapons begin firing at them, but attack helicopters move in and fire at the weapons. An advance force of F-16s had already destroyed many SAM launchers, leaving mainly anti-aircraft guns. Now, the helicopters begin destroying them one after another, with only a few losses.
The LAATs press on towards downtown Baghdad, and the palace where Saddam Hussein and much of his leadership are believed to currently be located.
"Get ready!" Anakin shouts. Behind him, clones ready their weapons, and Ahsoka and Lieutenant Mofaz draw their lightsabers. It had been decided to have members of the ASAT team accompany the forces attacking the three countries to give them real combat experience with a lightsaber.
Finally, the LAATs slow down and lower to the ground. "Move!" Anakin shouts as he leaps out of the LAAT. Ahsoka and Lieutenant Mofaz follow him. All around him, almost 300 clones and men of the Saudi Army emerge from other LAATS, along with Lieutenant Wilson.
Anakin ignites his lightsaber, twirling it fast to block bullets flying his way from several Iraqi troops. The bullets melt against the saber, resulting in Anakin having to dodge little drops of molten metal. Then, Saudi troops gun down the Iraqis.= with their new blasters.
"Let's move!" Anakin shouts, leading his troops towards the palace.
A Saudi soldier blows down the front doors of the palace with a grenade launcher. Anakin leads his force into the palace. Immediately, they come under fire from the palace guards. Anakin and Ahsoka block the bullets with their lightsabers. Lieutenant Mofaz and Lieutenant Wilson duck for cover, as they're not yet confident enough to try and block bullets with their lightsabers, as bullets are harder to spot than blaster bolts.
The clones and Saudis take cover behind whatever they can, returning fire on the Iraqi guards. After a fierce firefight lasting only about two minutes, all the Iraqi guards are dead.
"Move!" Anakin calls out, and the strike force continues further into the palace, while some guard the entrance.
Outside, Iraqi soldiers are moving towards the palace to protect their leader. However, the A-10s continuously circle around the palace, firing at any solider or military vehicle that comes too close, with LAATs and attack helicopters assisting. Once again, Iraqi shoulders are being put on the receiving end of the fury of the A-10.
Inside the palace, Anakin, Ahsoka, and the rest of the strike force continue searching the palace, hall by hall and room by room. Periodically, they encounter more guards, but they are all cut down without much difficulty.
Finally, Anakin rounds a corner to see a number of guards standing outside a door just down the hall. Anakin sprints towards them and leaps on them, cutting them down with his lightsaber.
Ahsoka, Rex, and several clones rush up behind him. Anakin cuts through the door's lock with his saber, then kicks the doors open. And, to his shock, they open into a large meeting room, where Saddam Hussein and almost the entire leadership of Iraq is gathered.
Saddam and his leadership stare in surprise at the new arrivals. The clones gun down the few guards in the room before they can even raise a gun.
Anakin smiles a bit. "Gentlemen. By the authority given to me by the United Nations, you are all under arrest. I would suggest you all come quietly and make my job easier for me," he says.
Realizing they're being faced won by two Jedi as well as the clones, many of the men at the table slowly raise their hands and stand up. However, Saddam shoots to his feet and pulls out his pistol, firing at Anakin. Anakin easily blocks the bullets with his saber, then uses the Force to pull the pistol from Saddam's hands.
"Stun him," Anakin says. And Rex raises his blaster and fires, stunning Saddam.
"Alright. Everybody walk towards us slowly," Anakin says. The men obey, and the clones begin cuffing them.
"Alright. We've accomplished our mission. Let's get out of here," Anakin says as he uses the Force to levitate Saddam.
The strike team quickly retreats out of the palace, Anakin still using the Force to pull carry Saddam out.
Outside the palace, the LAATs gather and set down. The strike force quickly boards the gunships, which lift off immediately and head back towards Saudi Arabia.
On the lead LAAT, Anakin activates his commlink and says, "This General Skywalker. We have captured Saddam Hussein and most of the Iraqi leadership. Other assault teams have captured remaining government officials in Baghdad. We are retreating back to Saudi Arabia."
"Copy, General Skywalker," General Al-Muhaya, the Saudi General in charge of the operation, responds.
Across Iraq, allied fighters begin returning to their bases. In a matter of about and hour and a half, their surprise attack has not only captured almost the entire Iraqi leadership, but also destroyed most of what's left of their air force and a large number of the Iraqi Army's ground vehicles.
This has been a textbook mission.
(Earth orbit, Resolute)
Admiral Yularen stares intently at the display. The three missions to take down the leadership of Iraq, Libya, and North Korea had ended hours ago. The missions were all textbook, with Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, and Kim Il-Sung all taken into custody, along with most of their leadership. They would be held in a maximum security prison in the United State before being taken and tried before the United Nations for attempting to betray their world to the Separatists and any other crimes. The losses that the Allied Nations sustained were minimal, with only a few fighters lost, and less than 200 dead.
Suddenly, alarms begin to blare. Admiral Yularen raises his head, then turns to his officers. "What's going on?" he demands.
"Sir, multiple ships dropping out of hyperspace in the outer part of the system!" one of the clone officers responds.
Admiral Yularen makes his way to the screen. Sure enough, ships are appearing on their scopes near Neptune. More and more ships keep appearing on the scopes. Pretty soon, there are 56 ships on the screen. An entire invasion fleet.
Admiral Yularen's blood chills a bit. There are 31 Republic Venators protecting Earth at the moment. The Terrans have been working on new weapons meant to work in space that could deal serious damage to Separatist ships, but the weapons have not been declared ready yet, and Republic reinforcements are still on their way.
"Alert United States National Command! The Separatists are here. Fifty six ships in total have appeared in the outer edges of the system! We are preparing to engage, but we will not be able to prevent forces from reaching the surface," Admiral Yularen orders. A clone officer hurries to make the call.
(Pentagon)
In a conference room, the Joint Chiefs of Staff are watching a video call from the Republic flagship.
"The Separatists are here. They will be able to reach the planet and begin landing troops with the next 24 hours. We will hold them off as best as we can, but we won't be able to keep all forces from reaching the planet's surface," the clone says.
"Thank you. We'll be ready for them when they get here," General Sullivan says before the call cuts off.
The Joint Chiefs look around at each other. Then, General Sullivan says, "Here we go. Let's send out the alert. All forces to maximum readiness. We need all weapons loaded and ready to fire, with fingers on the trigger."
The Joints Chiefs all nod, and they and their aides hurry to begin spreading the warning. Within a matter of about 40 minutes, every one of the 128 countries that formed what had become known in some circles as the Terran Alliance had received the warning, and were preparing to fight back.
The battles for Earth were about to begin.
And, I'll end there.
I hope I didn't go too fast, I just wanted to get through the mission without this going too long.
So, the threat of Iraq, Libya, and North Korea fighting for the Separatists has been removed. I get the feeling that the Republic and the Terran Alliance wouldn't want to risk getting stabbed in the back, and would want to take care of this before the Separatists arrived.
So, obviously it's not going to just be one battle for Earth. There are going to be multiple battles planet-side, which will probably last at least 10 chapters, possibly more.
Well, that's it for now. Until next time, leave a review, and stay tuned.